London's best hotel bars

This sophisticated sort of cocktail bar was imported to London from the US around the turn of the century, and brought with it all the art deco flourish and dimly lit extravagance we like to associate with that era. But add another to the list – the brand new Beaumont hotel in Mayfair has an American bar, and it’s as good as the other two.

The Langham Hotel is one of those high-ceilinged, marble-pillared palaces that many well-padded visitors, yet few resident Londoners, seem to visit. But it’s worth getting your best togs on just to admire David Collins’s design of this handsome room.

The name isn’t just a caprice: this David Collins-designed bar really is as blue as a Billie Holiday album. The sky-blue armchairs, the deep-blue ornate plasterwork and the navy-blue leather-bound menus combine with discreet lighting to striking effect. It’s a see-and-be-seen place, but staff treat all-comers like royalty, and the cocktails are a masterclass in sophistication.

Following the £220m revamp, The Savoy’s devotion to debonaire drinking now stretches beyond the iconic American Bar. The Beaufort might be the second bar, but second-division it is not. It’s a considerably more salubrious space to sip than the American Bar, and combines a wow-factor interior with good service and top-quality (if pricey) drinks.

Everything screams for attention at the Haymarket Hotel’s bright, almost brash bar, though the kaleidoscope of pink and red, patterned with geometrics on the bar stools and florals on the sofas, may not be to everyone’s taste.

There's no velvet rope barring your way to the Coburg Bar: you can just walk straight on in. And once you've done so, the service will be faultless.The hotel's other bar, Connaught Bar, is both cosy and elegant, with a conspiratorial duskiness.

It’s hard not to be wowed by the soaring space, with its triffid-sized flower arrangements, elegant pillars and ceiling-height windows; but the majesty of the room is lent intimacy by high-backed armchairs, comfortable sofas and shimmering candles.